Thursday, April 14, 2005
Opinion 4 Famed satirist Joel
Hoard bids farewell
Sports 9 Women's golf returns
from trip to legendary
Pete Dye course
Weather
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One-hundredfourteen years ofedtorialfreedom
www.mickigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXV, No. 119 ®2005 The Michigan Daily
Unemployment rate
goes down
0 State's job losses among
the highest in the nation
despite recent gains
LANSING (AP) - Michigan's seasonally
adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 6.9
percent in March, marking its lowest rate in
nearly a year, the state said yesterday.
But even with the improvement, Michigan
- which has had one of the nation's highest
Computer
breeches
worry
Sexperts
By Tiffany Teasley
For the Daily
A recent chain of incidents involving com-
puter security breeches on college campuses
has experts questioning the current security
policies that universities nationwide have in
place to protect the personal information of
students and faculty.
Three incidents involving computer hacking
and stolen information occurred within a span of
two weeks at three universities.
The most recent breach transpired on March
28 when a laptop that contained about 100,000
Social Security numbers of University of Cali-
fornia at Berkeley members was stolen from
the school's campus. Three days earlier, infor-
mation in the Kellogg School of Management
at Northwestern University was hacked into,
which could have exposed nearly 21,000 North-
western members' personal information to the
culprits. A similar incident occurred the week
before at California State University at Chico
where a security breach may have revealed the
personal information of 59,000 California State
affiliates.
The most recent significant incident
involving University information security
occurred nearly a year ago when a student
reported a bug in Wolverine Access. This
glitch created the possibility for the dis-
closure of personal information, said John
Howell, the University's chief of informa-
tion technology security.
"It was not hacking, but the University felt
that there was a very small probability that
someone may have referenced it, although this
was not indicated," Howell said.
Notification was later posted on Wolver-
ine Access further explaining the situation,
along with the University's security poli-
cies.
Howell said the University has taken various
measures to ensure the safety of its students and
staff and is confident in the policies set forth by
the University to maximize information secu-
rity.
"There are always elements in place for bal-
ancing between computer security, ease of use
and functionality," Howell said.
Despite the protective measures colleges
" may have in place, universities still need to fur-
ther develop their security systems, said Aileen
Soules, associate dean of California State Uni-
versity at East Bay.
"In some ways we're more vulnerable then
ever," Soules said in regard to universities
across the country,
Soules, who is an expert of privacy policies,
said she feels the policies of colleges and uni-
See SECURITY, Page 7A
unemployment rates for months - still lags
behind the national unemployment rate of 5.2
percent in March. And there were signs of weak-
ness in the monthly report, including another loss
of manufacturing jobs.
Economists caution not to read too much into
one month's numbers. The state's jobless rate has
danced between 6.7 percent and 7.5 percent for the
past two years, with the March rate coming near
the lower end.
"We really need to see several months of data
to indicate a trend," said Bruce Weaver, an analyst
with the Michigan Department of Labor and Eco-
nomic Growth. "The change (in the rate) is a posi-
tive indicator, but it's just one month of data."
The March rate was the lowest since April
2004, when Michigan's unemployment rate was
6.7 percent. The state's jobless rate was 7.1 percent
in March 2004.
Michigan's jobless rate was 7.4 percent in Feb-
ruary, according to revised figures released yes-
terday. Total employment increased by 17,000
people last month, and there were 28,000 fewer
unemployed.
But a monthly survey of employers was not as
positive. The payroll jobs survey, which does not
include farm jobs or the self-employed, indicated
a loss of 17,000 jobs in March. About 6,000 of the
lost jobs were in manufacturing, mostly due to
short-term layoffs in the auto industry.
The state has lost 20,000 manufacturing jobs
since March 2004, according to the survey.
While Michigan's economy has diversified
in recent years, the state still is largely tied
to manufacturing.
"If you're heavily into a declining sector,
it won't be easy no matter who is in political
office," said Charles Ballard, a Michigan
State University economist. "Manufactur-
ing has been declining for decades."
Other employment sectors have remained
stable in the past year, including construc-
tion, finance, education, health services and
tourism.
POET'S SOCIETY
Tensions rise
as pullout
proceeds
NEVE DEKALIM, Gaza Strip
(AP) - Jewish settlers in Gaza have
collected hundreds of tents and are
stockpiling food for thousands of
supporters they expect to arrive in
coming days to help resist this sum-
mer's evacuation.
An Associated Press reporter saw
piles of hundreds of tents, sleeping
bags and cans of food in a Gaza
warehouse yesterday, and settlers
said more is on the way.
Removal of the 21 settlements
from Gaza and four from the West
Bank is shaping up as a traumatic
social episode in Israel's history.
There are warnings of opposition,
even armed resistance, against thou-
sands of police and soldiers who are
to take down veteran settlements in
those territories for the first time.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,
winding up a visit to the United States,
told NBC News earlier this week that
the atmosphere around the pullout
"looks like the eve of the civil war."
Yesterday, Sharon told CNN he
favored leaving the buildings in the
settlements intact after the pullout
but that depended on coordination
with the Palestinians, which had not
started yet.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Nass-
er Al Kidwa complained to CNN that
Israel had not given the Palestinians
information about the buildings, add-
ing "there should be no reward for
any of the assets, because they were
established illegally."
Settlers expect huge crowds to
gather in.Gaza to show solidarity
during the weeklong Jewish holiday
of Passover this month - and orga-
nizers are preparing for many of
them to stay and oppose the evacua-
tion, set for July.
The army says it has no intention of
stopping the influx, even though the
presence of thousands of protesters
would further complicate the opera-
tion. There are plans to close the area
in the weeks before the pullout.
Settler spokesman Eran Stern-
berg said organizers hope to bring
100,000 supporters to Gush Katif,
the main Gaza settlement bloc, for
Passover. He said police have issued
permits for the gatherings, including
concerts and marches.
Preparing for the friendly inva-
sion, Gaza settler activist Datya
Yitzhaki said she and her husband
Arye have set up a "war room." An
inspection of the warehouse showed
hundreds of tents, parachute mate-
rial and piles of canned food.
Arye Yitzhaki said the plan is to
"pitch a tent in every backyard in
Gush Katif." They said they expect-
ed hundreds of families and youths
to stay in Gaza after the holiday.
Datya Yitzhaki said more equip-
ment was to arrive next week, includ-
ing generators and refrigerators.
To accommodate the reinforce-
ments, Gaza residents are refurbish-
ing abandoned buildings, shacks
and barracks.
Official settler leaders have
expressed their opposition to the
evacuation in the strongest possible
terms, even employing comparison
with the Nazi Holocaust, when 6
million Jews were killed. While
the leaders say their resistance will
be nonviolent, security officials
have been warning that extremists
among the settlers or their back-
ers might open fire on troops and
police, try to assassinate Sharon or
attack a Muslim holy site in bids to
stop the pullout.
LSA senior Angelina Schmalzried reads a story at the poetry reading for Hopwood Award win-
ners yesterday In the Benzinger Library In East Quad Residence Hall. Winners gathered to'
share their work with each other.
Fliers for Arab students'
event torn down
Posted advertisements for
the show have allegedly been
destroyed for the past three years
By Laura Van Hyfte
Daily Staff Reporter
In what some call a malicious act, fliers
announcing Arab Xpressions - a program
held by the Arab Student Association - have
been torn down across campus. It is still
uncertain what prompted the destruction of
the fliers, said Sirene Abou-Chakra, a mem-
ber of the Arab Student Association.
"All the fliers and literature for this huge
event ... have been taken down," Abou-
Chakra said. "They're actually being
destroyed. They are not taking down the stuff
around (our fliers), so we are afraid that this
is a malicious act."
Arab Xpressions, a "comedy and poetry
jam," has been held for the last three years
by the ASA with the support of numerous
other organizations. The fliers have been
torn down every year that the performance
has been held, said Dana Baki, president of
the Arab Student Association.
"We've put this show on for the past three
years and ever year we deal with the same
problem.
We put them up and within hours they're
turn down while (other fliers) are still intact,"
Baki said.
Mahmoud Fadlallah, a student who helps post
the fliers, expressed his dissatisfaction with the
damage to the fliers.
Fliers that are posted Monday night ware
usually torn down by Tuesday, Fadlallah said.
Abou-Chakra explained that at this time
she has no idea who is responsible for the
destruction.
"I think if someone looks at the sign and
the first thing they see is Arab - people may
get a sense of distaste for the word - maybe
they just don't want to see (the flier) up,"
Abou-Chakra said.
"There is animosity in general towards
Arabs," Baki added.
Baki said she is uncertain of the culprits'
motive or identity, yet, she said she is suspicious
See FLIERS, Page 8A
START YOUR ENGINES
Graduate Library extends
building hours for Finals week
By Olga Mantilla
Daily Staff Reporter
At the urging of Michigan Student Assembly represen-
tative Stuart Wagner and MSA President Jesse Levine, the
Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library has agreed to extend its
hours to students preparing for their upcoming finals.
The extended hours of the Graduate Library begin on
the last day of class, April 19, and will continue until
April 26. During that period, closing time on Friday and
Dunkle said that the University and MSA were able to
compromise on the number of additional hours the library
would stay open during finals.
"We came up with a schedule that we could accommo-
date and afford," Dunkle said.
Full-time staff will be on duty during the extended
hours next week, she said.
"This is just one example of how effective communi-
cation between MSA and University officials can yield
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